Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Italian Footwear

I paid a visit to my doctor this week. In times past, when I needed to see the doctor, I'd show up during his working hours, take a number and wait my turn. It was usually a very long wait so I'd always bring a book with me. Now, for the past year, or so, it's possible to make an appointment ahead of time. There still exists the option to just go, take a number, and wait even longer. However, I always make an appointment first, if I can. This makes the wait much shorter so I don't usually bring a book. In any case, one must always wait for more than a few minutes. What to do while waiting??? I always end up staring at my fellow heel-coolers' feet. I'm always amazed at the horrendous shoes women wear. Most of the men wear what I consider to be sensible footwear, but the women...incredible! Either they're meant to be comfortable or they're supposed to look fashionable. It seems there's no middle ground for women. I, myself, am perfectly guilty. I have an ancient pair of canvas Supergas (kind of like Keds) that have holes over both big toes. I find people always staring at my feet when I'm out and about, but they're so comfortable! I like the color, too. They're kind of a faded blue that's almost periwinkle and matches nearly everything in my wardrobe.

Another shocker about older Italian women is that so many of them have elephant ankles. Why is that?? Maybe American women do too, but they cover them up with long pants. Most elderly Italian women still wear skirts for some reason. Could you imagine being in your 70s and 80s and struggling with panty hose every day?

But back to the Italian footwear thingy...I would be very curious to know how all these women I see wearing 3-inch wedge heels attached to 1.5-inch soles drive their cars?!? It seems as dangerous as texting while driving. Back in the day when I wore just regular high heels while driving my car, I'd always remove them first and drive barefooted. Shoes styles today just aren't the same--they have numerous buckles and/or the tight, too-long jeans that fit snugly around them all the way down to a millimeter about the ground, I just don't think women take the time to remove their shoes and replace them when they get there. They're in too much of a hurry to have their jeans properly hemmed, how can they find the time to re-harness their feet every time they get into and out of their cars?

1 comment:

Hi Mel. Here's a funny footwear story for you. I was walking on the sidewalk downtown behind a group of men in suits. Something about one man caught my eye: the sole of one of his shoes was reddish and the other wasn't. I concluded that he wore a mis-matched pair of shoes that day. Probably hoped no one would notice.